Packers repeat a concerning trend that came back to haunt them in the Week 1 loss to the Vikings
Coaching staff’s offensive line decision-making is still a huge question mark over and over again.
The Green Bay Packers lost to the Minnesota Vikings 39-22 in the regular season opener on Sunday, and the offensive line was a significant reason why. Specifically, the coaching staff’s decision-making regarding which players start along the offensive line is becoming more concerning by the day.
Green Bay chose to start Donovan Jennings at left guard over Jager Burton with Aaron Banks sidelined, and Jacob Monk remained the initial option at right guard. Both decisions are questionable at best because the Packers probably had better options available.
Burton, a fifth-round rookie, showed promise throughout training camp and the preseason. Anthony Belton started several games at right guard last season, and the expectation throughout the offseason was that he would be the presumptive starter at that position. Then, during training camp, the Packers simply decided Belton was no longer a guard. They moved him to right tackle exclusively, and now he’s a backup tackle. Even though the coaching staff always says they want to find the best five available to play, that probably isn’t what’s happening.
LaFleur’s flat answer on Jennings over Burton
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur gave what amounted to a flat answer when asked about the decision to start Jennings over Burton.
“It was more time on task, I would say, throughout the course of the offseason,” LaFleur explained. “He’s done a nice job, so it felt like he earned that opportunity.”
The “time on task” reasoning is hard to understand, though, because Burton spent more time practicing at left guard with the first-team offense, while Jennings barely practiced with the ones. Jennings had experience as a guard mostly with the twos.
Generally speaking, the coaching staff watches practice every day and has a better understanding of the players than outside observers do. But this staff also has a very concerning track record with offensive line decisions. Going back to 2019, they played Lane Taylor over rookie Elgton Jenkins, Billy Turner and Rick Wagner over Yosh Nijman, Lucas Patrick over Jon Runyan, Jake Hanson and Yosh Nijman over Zach Bako-Bewele. Last year, they played Rasheed Walker over Jordan Morgan.
The pattern is clear, with an unwillingness to play young players (rookies in particular) along the offensive line. Several times, Green Bay has played less talented players to avoid putting young linemen on the field. The reasoning is probably rooted in wanting experience at those positions. But those young players have generally been more talented, and when they eventually did play, they outperformed the older alternatives.
In Jennings’ case specifically, he entered Sunday’s game with only six career regular season snaps, all from the Baltimore Ravens game last season with Malik Willis at quarterback. The experience advantage over Burton was negligible at best.
The Aaron Banks problem and coaching concerns
The Packers’ issues extend beyond personnel decisions on game day. The decision not to release Banks is another factor. With the same $18 million the Packers are paying Banks, they could have signed Isaac Seumalo and Wyatt Teller in free agency, based on average annual value of those contracts without any cap gymnastics.
There’s also the offensive line coaching question. Green Bay had a good offensive line coach in Adam Stenavich. When the Packers promoted Stenavich to offensive coordinator, the entire operation of developing players along the offensive line took a step back. With Stenavich as offensive coordinator, it’s hard to identify what he adds to the equation. And under offensive line coach Luke Butkus, the Packers have simply stopped developing young players, which ultimately has truly hurt an operation built on drafting and developing talent.
Green Bay has invested heavily along the offensive line with a first-round pick on Jordan Morgan, a second-round pick on Belton, and several mid-round selections who should theoretically be able to develop. Some of them are talented, but the development isn’t materializing.
The offensive line struggles against Minnesota represented a failure on multiple levels. The failure of adding players who aren’t as good as hoped, the lack of development from the coaching staff, and the decision-making regarding which players see the field. All three combined to produce a complete breakdown, and the Packers felt every bit of it in the Week 1 loss to the Vikings.
